Options Volume Goes Through The Roof On Meme Stocks

[The Option Specialist]( 06/07/2021   |   [View in browser]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [Options Volume Goes Through The Roof On Meme Stocks]( AMC stock, along with other meme stocks such as GameStop (GME), BlackBerry (BB) and Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY) saw massive call option volume yesterday. The Reddit/WallStreetBets crowd have clearly targeted these meme stocks once again. The group has led retail traders in squeezing institutional investors out of their short trades. Option volume went through the roof for AMC stock with over 4.5 million contracts traded compared to the 90-day average of 650,000. Of those, 60% were calls and 40% were puts. AMC stock options were the most actively traded of any stock or ETF on the day. It's not often you can catch moves like this, but when you do the rewards can be enormous. But don't forget about the risks... [More...]( SPONSORED CONTENT [Options Trading System With A 94.8% Win-Rate On Last 727 Trades]( The key to being consistently profitable as a trader is to focus on high-probability trades. And in this powerful eBook by Dave Acquino, titled The Ultimate Income Trading System, you'll see exactly how Dave and so many of his students do just that. They make 4%, 5% or 6% on each trade and they're in the trade for just 11 hours. [CLICK HERE for instant access.]( [REFLECTIONS - In The Groove Again - by David Sager](#) The Dow Jones Industrial Average celebrated its 125th birthday this past week, but investors didn't throw any over-the-top celebrations or specifically honor this milestone. Major stock indexes bounced around all week, as has been the rule for some time, always finishing a bit higher and generally touching upon records. This month has been marked by big swings in everything from stocks to Bitcoin. Worries about inflation have stalled the markets from time to time, but the indices always seem to regain their footing, as evidenced by the rapidity of investors stepping back into the markets. Fresh data also confirms that Americans extended their spending ‘binge' in April and into May as they continued catching up on activities they held off on during the pandemic, propelling the economy. Consumer spending rose 0.5% in April and more in May. An increase in the number of Americans that have been vaccinated have added to the optimism about an economic recovery from the pandemic induced recession. We are building a solid economic foundation as each month brings more activity. As the economy opens up, retailers' results have boosted profit margins in the recovery. In fact the S&P 500 components' forward net profit margins stand at a record-high 12.8%, according to Yardeni Research. For all the talk of cost inflation, supply-chain pressures, and rising commodity prices, companies seem to be doing just fine passing those along to their customers and keeping their margins intact. "That's a tough scenario to bet against," says Dave Donabedian, chief investment officer at CIBC Private Wealth Management. The Wall Street consensus is for the 10 year Treasury note to yield 2% or more by the end of the year, up from around 1.6%. For the week the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished 321 points higher at 34,529, up 0.94%. The S&P 500 index gained 1.16%, to 4204, while the tech heavy Nasdaq showed good strength rising 2.06% to 13,748. Silver hasn't quite kept pace, as other commodities have reached record highs. Even gold has lagged moving even less than silver. They both pale in comparison to the copper rally. Silver may be treading "more like a store of value asset so far this year, versus an industrial commodity," many of which are up substantially, says Michel Cuggino, president and portfolio manager of Permanent Portfolio Family of Funds. That is "not really surprising given the gains of last year," he says. Silver futures rose 47% in 2020. Silver peaked near $30 an ounce in February 2021, following a ‘Reddit' post suggesting a short squeeze on the metal, (it might have been more successful than Gamestop). At $27.94 on May 27, prices are up more than 5.8% for 2021. Silver however, is the "best conductor of energy," says Collin Plume, founder and CEO, Noble Gold. Plume says silver will most likely top $50 if the Biben administrations' renewable energy plan is approved, raising demand for the metal and leading the market to realize supplies may come up short. "Silver is used in both solar panels and electric vehicles, and will play a key part in the shift to 5G wireless network technology," says Ed Egilinsky, managing director and head of alternatives at Direxion. That would likely spur silver demand, and boost prices significantly. Both metals have under performed because "there is so much ‘hot money' chasing what is moving," such as cryptocurrencies, says Brent Cook, an economic geologist and senior advisor for the newsletter Exploration Insight. Bull Versus Bear in Musk's Brain...Musk started his cryptocurrency bullish run, buying $1.5 billion Bitcoin through Tesla, his car company, announcing to the world ‘he' would accept payment in Bitcoin for ‘his' autos. Evidently after giving some thought to his actions he decided to show concern that the mining of Bitcoin is feeding global warming. Lots of electricity used to "mine" Bitcoin comes from burning coal and natural gas. Musk cited climate concerns when he abruptly stopped accepting Bitcoin for his cars in May, after accepting it in March. In any event Mr. Musk, as usual, changed his mind and found himself the center of a bearish crypto market, one that is still trying to figure out directions. From a high of $64,000 on April 14, 2021 to hovering in the $35,000 to $40,000 range since then. If Musk stays sidelined and his bearishness continues Bitcoin could continue to struggle. Cathy Wood, ESG investors, a massive bull on Bitcoin, who has a price target of $500,000, might have to reevaluate her projections, or at least pull the Bull out of Musk. RUMBLINGS ON THE STREET Lawrence Summers, former Treasury Secretary in the Clinton Administration, and outspoken critic of his fellow Democrats fiscal plans. Barron's "The Federal Reserve has set its short-term rate target near 0% while also keeping a lid on longer-term with massive securities purchases," he said in a video meeting of the Economic Club of New York, Thursday. Summers reiterated that the Biden spending plan risks "overheating" the economy, which he says will return to its trend growth at full capacity by the end of the summer. At the same time, both the "monetary and fiscal accelerators are pressed to the floor," which could trigger an inflationary surge that would be more than transitory, as Fed officials insist the current price rises are. Summers said the levees would be "backloaded" and wouldn't address short-term overheating risk. Greg Valliere, the chief U.S. Strategist at AGF Investments. Barron's "Biden knows he can't get all of this stuff, (his envision of $6 trillion in the next fiscal year) but he wants to convince the progressives that he's on their side. He needs to keep them happy, because they won't like the inevitable compromises Biden will have to make with Manchin (Sen. Joe Manchin, Democrat centrist from West Virginia) and the Republican opposition in the evenly divided Senate. "But ultimately the flaw in Biden's budget is that it relies on a very shaky premise that debt servicing costs can be contained. Thus, it appears the only way this spending binge can be accommodated is if interest rates stay unusually low," Valliere writes in a client note. By keeping its short term rate target low, possibly near 0% into 2023, the Fed, under Jerome Powell has been willing to "go big" Valliere says, "shooting for ‘maximum employment' and inflation running above its putative 2% target." Engine No. 1's Charlie Pennere, on getting at least two seats on the Exxon-Mobil board. Barron's "We have...learned that change can happen anywhere. It will always be a long shot, but it will always be worth it." [A Stock Market Crash May Be Coming: 3 Resilient Stocks to Buy Now]( Market crashes happen. The unfortunate fact is that there's no getting around it. If your investing experience is longer than a few years, you've probably experienced a couple of crashes already. Once investors recognize this truth, however, the fear of waiting for it -- let alone the actual occurrence -- becomes a lot less foreboding. With time to prepare and fortify their portfolios, investors can weather the storm of a market downturn a lot more comfortably than if they had neglected to prep altogether. But how do you get ready for the market to dip? No need to worry about hitting the supermarket to buy canned goods and bottled water for this event. Instead, you'll want to consider buying stocks that can buttress your portfolio -- stocks such as American Water Works (NYSE:AWK), Royal Gold (NASDAQ:RGLD) and Waste Management (NYSE:WM). [Article continues...]( [Can Your Emergency Fund Ever Be Too Big?]( Saving up money for emergencies may be one of the best decisions you ever make. After all, surprise costs can crop up in everyone's life. And being unprepared for them could mean you end up in credit card debt or struggling to stick with your budget. In general, most financial experts recommend that your emergency fund should have enough money in it to cover between three to six months of living expenses. But in some cases, you may decide you want to save even more. If you're considering building a really big emergency fund, though, you need to ask yourself if it's possible for your rainy day fund to be too big. In some cases, having too much money saved for emergencies may seem like a good thing on the surface, but there are a few possible problems with socking away tons of cash in your bank account. Here's what you may want to consider before deciding to grow your emergency fund. [Click to continue reading this article...]( [27 Most Lucrative Side Hustles for People Over 50]( If you think the side hustle was born to serve the millennial generation, that might be true. Everywhere you turn these days, it seems like millennials - ages 23 to 38 - have at least one additional way that they make money other than their main job. But other age groups besides millennials are interested in side jobs as ways to make extra money, too. Baby boomers - or adults ages 55 to 73 - are also getting their hustle on, whether it's to earn a little extra money for fun or to supplement their main source of income. Baby boomers are hustling harder than millennials, according to a study by Wonolo, a gig platform. One baby boomer out of every 3 is completing three or more gigs a week on its platform, compared to only 1 in 5 millennials. If you're looking to earn more money, find out which side hustle opportunities can help you reach your financial goals. [More here...]( SPONSORED CONTENT [The End Of Capitalism As We Know It?]( A Maryland multimillionaire explains how a new moneymaking era is erupting in America, making many rich -- [while leaving so many behind...]( --------------------------------------------------------------- [The Option Specialist]( Send this to a Friend. [Click here.]( | Not a Subscriber Yet? [Click here.]( All content © 2021 The Option Specialist Neptune Ave, 300 Main Street #711, Madison, NJ 07940 USA Welcome to The Option Specialist, an e-mail service that replaces many of our previous alerts. We hope you enjoy it. If you do not wish to receive this email service, please [click here to unsubscribe](. [Privacy Policy]( --------------------------------------------------------------- © Copyright 2021 The Option Specialist, All rights reserved. All content made available to you through our services are subject to and protected by copyright. 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